To facilitate a sense of meaning in teens, parents can focus on teaching and loving their child rather than choosing for them. It’s important for teens to have the space and autonomy they need to make the choices that are going to be support living a fulfilling and meaningful life. In fact, it’s important to help a teen find the “No” in them versus simply telling them to say “No”. Helping a teen understand and see for themselves why saying “No” to drugs or alcohol is in their best interest will empower them to say “No” when faced with peer pressure. As kids get older, peer pressure can get in the way of how well they do in school.

Unfortunately, not everyone is a good friend, nor does everyone have good intentions. Consider who your friends are and if they’re truly capable of helping to inspire growth and good deeds. A study conducted by the University of Southern California found that reward often outweighs risk when among a group of peers. Thus, our mind may seek ways to gain peer support, even if those actions fail to align with our morals or values. If you’ve decided that your friends don’t have your best interests at heart, search out new friends who share your values and interests. Supporting others’ opinions will send the message that you think for yourself.

What to do When Peer Pressure Happens

Listening to their instincts, focusing on their strengths, talking through issues, and learning relaxation exercises, are all examples of different coping strategies that can help manage stress. Teaching teens — and modeling — coping strategies will help them make healthier choices during the stressful and challenging situations that often come with peer pressure. If the peer pressure is still too much to handle, let your teens know they don’t have to deal with it on their own. If they seemingly feel unable to come to you, for now, let them know it’s also okay to seek guidance from a trusted adult other than yourself. Extended family, teachers, counselors, clergy, and coaches are also good resources.

• It’s similar with sex and “hooking up”—most students have a skewed idea of what others are doing.
• For example, you might see what kids in your class are wearing, like it, and wear something like that, too.
• Profound data from articles gathered through NUSS, ECBO host, and various other databases were utilized.
• Positive influences, usually parents or siblings, can teach you how to deal with peer pressure directly.
• Your life counts, and you can make a difference in this world.
• Eden Pontz is Executive Producer and Director of Digital Content for CPTC.

Strong4Life is one of the many ways we deliver on that promise. Despite your best efforts to be the “perfect parent” who raises the “perfect child,” it’s impossible. So, even if you do everything “right,” and you raise your kids according to plan, there will be missteps along the way. Allowing for opportunities for forgiveness, understanding and connection (for both you and your child) is a wonderful foundation for growth. Assess how much pressure you feel to fit in and decide whether or not you are comfortable with this crowd.

How to stand up to negative peer pressure

Finally, peer pressure can be described as either positive or negative. Positive peer pressure is when a person is influenced by others to engage in a beneficial or productive behavior. Usually, the term peer pressure is used when people are talking about behaviors that are not considered socially acceptable or desirable, such as experimentation with alcohol or drugs. If their temporary lapse in judgment doesn’t cross into territory in which safety or morality are at risk, try to stay calm. Have a reasonable discussion after a bit of time has passed. It should be a conversation in which you don’t pass judgment.

• Peer pressure influences are notorious for triggering the dangerous use of alcohol and drugs.
• It is natural, healthy and important for children to have and rely on friends as they grow and mature.
• If the peer pressure is still too much to handle, let your teens know they don’t have to deal with it on their own.
• If you can do this before you leave the house this can act as a safety measure to stop you getting involved in risk taking behaviours and can help with refusing peer pressure.
• These are suggestions for helping your teen avoid peer pressure as well as supporting them through  it.
• Peer pressure can sway decisions and outlooks, particularly in adolescents whose minds are still developing.
• So, it’s important to recognize that some peer pressure can have a positive influence on your child.

Equipping teens with a variety of communication strategies empowers them to make good decisions when faced with peer pressure. These are skills that not only support their ability to make it through tough situations today but will also serve them far into adulthood. Your friends can also influence you in good ways, so it’s essential to surround yourself with people who support your goals and encourage you to make healthy decisions. Of course, there are ways where you can have friends without the pressure or the stress.

Why Do Some Kids Give in to Peer Pressure?

Understanding how you feel and acknowledging negative emotions can help steer a person away from making poor choices. Avoid peers that can cause self-doubt, lack of self-confidence, and who may disregard your feelings completely. Negative peer pressure makes https://ecosoberhouse.com/ a person feel like they aren’t going to fit in unless they participate in activities that are likely to hurt them in some way. Feeling like you need to lose weight in order to be part of the group or work out to fit in could lead to an eating disorder.

Sign up to receive expert advice for raisinghealthy, safe, resilient children. Learn the signs of when peer pressure is good and when it’s a problem. And pick up some tips to help your child deal with and navigate peer pressure when it happens. If you don’t feel particularly strong about a topic or activity but you are uncomfortable with it, make up a reason to excuse yourself. For example, say you have to go eat, or your roommate needs you for something, and politely leave. When you are in a new environment, you feel more inclined to change yourself or your behaviors in order to feel a sense of belonging.

When peer pressure is positive, it pushes you to be your best. Negative peer pressure is when someone who is a friend or part of a group you belong to makes you feel that you have to do something to be accepted. It’s the negative peer pressure that we usually think of when the phrase peer pressure is used. When you give in to negative peer pressure, you often feel guilty or disappointed with yourself for acting in a way that goes against your beliefs or values.

By the time they turn 7, children start caring more and more about what other kids think of them — and less about what their parents or other adults think. Indirect negative peer pressure is subtle but still powerful enough to influence your decisions. There’s an unspoken pressure on you to do the same things as your peers in order to fit into the group. Many adults are susceptible to drinking too much because their friends are doing it, or putting work before family because they’re competing with other people in their office for a promotion. In reality, peer pressure can be either a positive or negative influence that one peer, or group of peers, has on another person.

This involvement can lead to exposure to role models and eventually lead to the teens becoming positive role models themselves. Peer pressure is the process by which members of the same social group influence other members to do things that they may be resistant to, or might not otherwise choose to do. Sign up for the weekly CPTC newsletter direct peer pressure and get parenting tips delivered right to your inbox. Join the growing movement to change how our community sees teens. The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) nonprofit website, Wonderopolis, expresses the importance of good peers. An article they published states that good friends should be loyal and accepting of who you are.

It’s important to remember that peer pressure isn’t always negative. It can be good to have a core group of people your own age who support you and help you make positive decisions. When you’re involved with other people doing the right thing, it can help keep you on track. You may find that you like the idea of fitting in with people who are making the right choices and treat you with respect. These are suggestions for helping your teen avoid peer pressure as well as supporting them through  it.

For parents, you must speak with your children about the harm that can come with groups of friends that have bad intentions. Provide support to your kids and ask questions about how they’re feeling with the group they interact with regularly. As we enter into adulthood, we may still occasionally be driven by reward-seeking behavior. However, the brain’s limbic system is now more capable of factoring in reasoning such as possible consequences, safety, and general well-being.